West Norfolk church lectures are food for mind and soul

A bishop and two high profile Cambridge University academics will be speaking at the well-known South Creake church lecture series over the next few weeks on the theme ‘food for the mind and soul’.

The free lectures are organized by St Mary’s Church in South Creake near Fakenham, which “wants to give back to the community something intellectually stimulating and challenging”. They are not fundraising events so entry to the lectures at St Mary’s Church is free and unticketed.

The first of the 2017 lectures is being given by the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, under the title Behold the Man at 7pm on Friday September 8. In his lecture, Bishop Stephen will explore a number of contemporary representations of Christ and lead us to meditate on how we seek Jesus in our own lives and in our own culture and on the different ways we see him.

The second lecture, The Fight for Beauty, will be delivered at 7pm on Friday September 22 by Dame Fiona Reynolds, Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and former Director-General of the National Trust. Drawing on her book, The Fight for Beauty, Dame Fiona will explore the theme that we live in a world where the drive for economic growth is crowding out everything that cannot be given a monetary value. She proposes a solution that is at once radical and simple – to inspire us through the beauty of the world around us.

Dr Giles Waller will give the third lecture on Martin Luther and the Theology of the Cross on Tuesday October 31 at 7pm. October 31 is the exact 500th Anniversary of the start of the Reformation when Luther is said to have nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. Giles, from the University of Cambridge’s School of Divinity, is tipped as one of the stars of the rising generation of young theologians.

“The South Creake Lectures have been a tremendous success,” said Fr Clive Wylie, the Vicar of South Creake. “Since the first lecture in September 2015, we have attracted large audiences to hear nationally famous speakers. This year’s programme should again attract anyone with an open and curious mind. We invite people just to turn up at our beautiful church, entry is free and you don’t need a ticket, and take on some spiritual and intellectual nourishment, food for the mind and soul.”